Alana Burke: Romney is choice for a renewed America

The presidential election is imminent and there is a clear choice between two candidates with distinctly different visions for America. Die-hard Democrats will vote for President Obama and die-hard Republicans will vote for Governor Romney, thus the election will hinge on moderates, independents and disenchanted liberals.

The Obama campaign attempted to paint Romney as a rich bogeyman who will oppress women, pollute the earth, and rob from the poor to line the pockets of the wealthy. Low-informed voters will likely fall for Obama's crude strategies but well-rounded Democrats recognize a smear campaign when they smell it. If they vote against Romney, it will be because of their differences in principles, not because of the lies perpetuated by the Obama campaign.

One super-PAC ad blamed Romney for the death of the wife of steelworker Donnie Box because Bain Capital closed the plant and the worker lost his health insurance. Actually, his wife had insurance with her own employer and did not die until five years after the plant closed. Further, Box later said, "I think Obama is a jerk, a pantywaist, a lightweight, a blowhard. He hasn't done a goddamn thing that he said he would do. When he had a Democratic Senate and Democratic Congress, he didn't do a damn thing. He doesn't have the guts to say what's on his mind." Ouch!

Despite Obama's smear campaign, which included VP Joe Biden telling blacks that Romney is "gonna put ya'all back in chains," the debates showcased Romney's true character. He was prepared and knowledgeable on economic issues, national and domestic policy. He held his own against the Obama onslaught and was the picture of presidential. Obama came off as arrogantly oblivious followed by disgruntled, angry, snarky and then over-the-top aggressive. His combative stance in the second and third debates scored him points, but the accurate spin on Obama's performance was that he appeared small, petty and unpresidential.

The key issues in this election are the economy, national security and the role of government. Romney balanced a state budget with remarkably bipartisan success while not one member of Congress voted for Obama's budget. Romney will foster small businesses, create jobs and effectively work toward energy independence. He will emphasize national security, won't downgrade the military or skirt the issue of radical Islamic terrorism. Moreover, he fully supports the 10th Amendment and trusts Americans to make their own decisions on important issues.

Obama has broken the majority of his campaign promises and during "the worst economic crisis since the great depression" when the Democrats had full control of Congress, he focused on "Obamacare" instead of getting Americans back to work. Now, one in six Americans is living in poverty and our national debt has skyrocketed. Food stamp spending has increased by 100 percent, the effective unemployment rate is between 8 percent and 15 percent, incomes are declining, prices are rising and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, under Obama income inequality has accelerated. Under President Bush, the "1 percent" got 65 cents of every dollar created. Under Obama, they now get 93 cents.

Obama was the first president to mandate that Americans must buy a product or face a penalty, the first president to violate the War Powers Act by executing military actions in Libya without congressional approval, and the first president to sue states for trying to enforce federal immigration laws because he didn't "like" the laws.

On national security, Obama is mealy-mouthed about the ugly reality of radical Muslim extremism and calls acts of terror "man made disasters" or blames America for "provoking" the violence. He called the terrorist attack by Maj. Hassan at Fort hood "workplace violence" thus denying certain military benefits to the survivors. Most recently, I believe he abhorrently used misdirection to reframe the tragic events in Benghazi and the slaughter of four brave Americans so that he could claim he had "Al-Qaida on the run" before the election.

On Tuesday, voters must choose the right path to prosperity for the nation because if the economy fails, the safety net fails. They must choose a strong military and national security because, if America is weak, nobody is safe. On a personal level, they must choose whether they want to live free in the tradition of the American spirit and their own innovation, or let the government intervene and make their choices for them.

In 2008 Obama said, "We have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states; we are and always will be the United States of America." He then used divisive policies and class warfare to divide us. A vote for Mitt Romney may not "slow the rise of the oceans" and "heal the planet," but it will put us back on the path to a healthy economy and bipartisan American excellence.